Well, on we go to the new stuff. Thanks to Nan's and Jenni's nag-um, encouragement, I bring you chapter five. Until they started, it had been sitting partially completed on my hard drive for eight months.
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Chapter 5:
Broken Blossoms
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October 3, 1999 4:00 PM
Daily Planet Daycare Center, Metropolis
Rachel stood on her tiptoes to peer in the window of the baby room. She wasn't supposed to be out of the older kids' room, but she'd snuck out to check on Jamie. The teachers would know where to find her, anyway. They always did when she went to visit her brother.
She dropped back down to the floor, opened the door silently, and tiptoed into the nursery. She glanced around, then hurried to Jamie's crib when she saw that the teachers were busy changing diapers. Quickly, she pulled herself into the crib. Jamie gave her a smile, then stuffed his fist in his mouth. "Hey Jaimers," she whispered, giving him a kiss.
Jamie blinked at her sleepily.
"I had to get 'way from Timmy," she explained, carefully picking the baby up and settling him in her lap. "I don't like him; he's still mean." Rachel cuddled him closer, taking comfort in the clean baby smell of her brother.
Jamie pulled his fist out of his mouth and stuck his foot in, looking enormously pleased with his accomplishment.
"Wow! I can't put my foot in my mouth!" Rachel hugged him gently. "I won't let Timmy touch you," she promised again. "He pinches, *hard*."
Jamie closed his eyes and sucked on his toes.
Rachel shifted his warm weight into a more comfortable position and kissed the top of his mostly-bald head. "*You're* my brother, Jamie, not *Timmy*." She said the last word with disgust, as if to let the baby know how much she detested the interloper.
Jamie's foot popped out of his mouth and he stuck his fist back in.
Rachel yawned. Jamie followed her example. "It's not safe to take naps there," she confided. "Timmy pulls my hair and then tells Teacher that I'm lying when I tell. He never does it when she can see, either."
Jamie's eyes started to slide shut.
Rachel put him down on the mattress, then curled herself around him. "I'll protect you, Jamie," she whispered as her own eyes began to close. "I love *you,* not *him.*
Catherine Roberts, the teacher in the Infant Room, found the two of them a few minutes later. "Jess, come see who showed up here again," she said with a half-smile.
Jess put the child she was holding into the playpen and walked over. "Rachel Kent again?" she asked. Her expression was torn between amusement and irritation.
"Yeah," she said. Catherine picked up a blanket and spread it over the two children.
"Cate, you know that she's not supposed to stay here!" Jess said.
Catherine shrugged. "I'll take responsibility; five-year-olds are heavy and she obviously feels safe here with her baby brother. Besides, she's asleep and I don't want to wake her up."
"You'll get your head handed to you on a platter," Jess warned.
Catherine shot her a grin. "I doubt it. The Kents are Joyce's favorite parents."
Jess shrugged and turned back towards the rest of the children. Catherine lingered for a few minutes, fussing with how the blanket lay, before she left to join Jess.
Rachel and Jamie slept, cuddled together, for a while, with Rachel dreaming of teaching her brother how to walk and run away from bad people. Her little arm tightened around him as if to protect him from anyone who would offer him harm.
~*~*~*~
October 3, 1999, 5:30 PM
Daily Planet
Lois saved the file she'd been working on, told the computer to shut down, and began clearing off her desk. Clark had been called away at the last moment by a call for help, so it was up to her to get the children and take them home that night. She sighed and reached for her purse and briefcase.
Some days it seemed like a never-ending cycle. Go to work, drop off the kids, work, get the kids, take care of them, try and get Jamie to stop crying, feed them dinner, make sure they all get baths, get them to bed. Then, the next day, it started all over again. She sighed again.
She loved Rachel and Jamie. She was still getting used to Timmy. But there were some days, when things had been especially tough, when she wished she could just run away for a few days and not have to take care of them. Her parents had been helping out, and before they got Timmy, Clark's parents had been perfectly willing to be brought up to babysit for the weekend. That relief, however, would be put on hold until they decided if Timmy would be staying with them.
It would be too hard to explain how Clark's parents had gotten to Metropolis from Smallville just to babysit for a night or two. It was early yet to know how things would work out; Timmy had only been with them for a day. Lois stood up, pushed her chair in and headed towards the elevator.
It didn't take long to get downstairs and into the daycare center. "Hi," she said, smiling at Amy, who was sitting behind the desk.
Amy looked up from her papers and smiled. "Off early tonight, Ms. Lane? You know the way back."
"Thanks, Amy," she said. Lois headed back to the rooms, stopping in the infant room first. She peeked in the window and frowned when she noticed Rachel sitting on the floor with Jamie. She loved it that she was adjusting to having a baby brother so well, but wasn't Rachel supposed to be on the playground? She knocked on the door, then entered.
Rachel jumped up, ran over to Lois and buried her face in her stomach. "Momma!" she said.
Lois disentangled herself and crouched down to Rachel's level. "Why are you in here, Peanut?" she asked as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind Rachel's ear.
Rachel looked down at the ground as if she were ashamed. "Timmy was pinching me, so I runned away. *Jamie* loves me, even if Timmy doesn't."
Lois gave Rachel a gentle hug. "I think we're going to have to have a talk with Timmy about pinching," she said.
Rachel bit her lip. "He'll be meaner if you do," she whispered. "He was always meaner if Kirsten said anything."
Lois kissed Rachel on the forehead. "Who's Kirsten, baby?"
"The nanny that Papa Gary fired because she was gonna tell." Rachel looked like she might cry. "She hadda go back to Denmark after."
Lois hugged her daughter again, mentally cursing the man who'd hurt her baby. "Sweetie, your Daddy and I will deal with Timmy--he can't go around pinching you and thinking that it's okay. Did you do anything to make him mad?" she asked.
"Uh uh," Rachel said. "He was trying to take Clarkie Bear away and I didn't wanna let 'em. He tore off Clarkie Bear's arm, too." Her lower lip started to wobble. "Teacher took him 'way and his arm hurts."
Lois dug in her purse, pulled out a tissue and wiped the tears away. She held it up to Rachel's nose. "Blow," she ordered.
Obediently, Rachel blew her nose into the tissue, but kept sniffing. "We'll fix Clarkie," Lois promised. "I can sew his arm back on and set it so he'll heal. He may have to wear a sling for a few days, but he'll be good as new."
Lois's sewing skills were on par with her cooking skills, but even she knew enough to sew a toy's arm back on. And she could always ask Martha for advice.
"Really?" Rachel asked.
"What are Mommies for?" Lois asked with a smile. "Now, let's get your brother, and then go down the hall to get Timmy, okay?"
"Okay. Momma, can I sit next to Jamie? Timmy might hurt him." Rachel gave her a pleading look that Lois knew she must have picked up from Clark.
"We'll see." Lois stood up and held out her hand for Rachel to take. She smiled when she felt the small hand slip into hers and together they walked over to where the Infant Room teachers were sitting. "How was Jamie today?" she asked as Jess settled him in his carrier.
"He cried a lot, as usual," Catherine said with a resigned sigh. "He's growing out of it--he doesn't cry as much as ye used to and he also seems better when Rachel's here with him."
Lois favored her daughter with a proud smile. "I know. Do Rachel's teachers know where she is?"
Catherine nodded. "When our little Houdini turned up here again, I let them know."
Lois thanked the women, picked up Jamie's baby carrier, and left the room, making sure that the door was shut tightly behind her. They had some babies in that room that were just beginning to walk well, and she didn't want them to escape.
She kept her stride short enough that Rachel would have no problems keeping up and hurried to the after-school rooms. It was a matter of minutes, to pick up Rachel's things, including the damaged toy, and call for Timmy.
The moment Timmy appeared, Rachel hid behind Lois and refused to come out. Timmy bounced up to them and gave Lois a wide grin. "Hihi, Ms., Lane!" he said cheerfully before spotting Rachel. His face darkened. "Why does *she* have to be here?" he demanded.
Lois's lips tightened. "Timmy, Rachel is my little girl. I'm here to pick all three of you up and take you home. Now, I've heard that you haven't been very nice today. Can you tell me what happened?"
Another smile blossomed on Timmy's face. "Rachel wouldn't let me have her stupid bear, so I took him from her," he frowned. "It broke." He stuck his lip out in a pout. "Wasn't supposed to. Was *mine.* So I pinched her good. She deserved it. Daddy says she's a filthy little bitch. He's right."
Lois frowned. It was… disturbing to hear such language from a four-year-old. She reminded herself that he was just repeating what he'd heard. She felt Rachel pressing herself closer to her legs and reached back to put a hand on Rachel's hair. "No, he's not," she said.
Lois suppressed her natural inclination to swat Timmy on the butt. She wasn't allowed to do that, as much as she might want to. "Timmy, we don't say things like that. Ever. It's not nice. Taking Rachel's toy and ripping it was ugly, too. And we never, *ever* hurt people because they don't do what we say. Is that clear?"
"Yes ma'am," he said sullenly. "But she's still a filthy little bastard *and* a bitch," he muttered.
Anger tore through Lois. She would *not* allow this child to trample over her daughter. "We'll discuss this more when we get home," she said, her voice deadly soft. "Get your stuff."
Lois watched as Timmy gathered his belongings. She pointed him towards the door. "Now *march*." She shot an apologetic look at the teacher and hurried out the door. She was angrier than she could ever remember being at a child. She took some deep breaths, willing herself to calm down.
She needed to talk to Clark about this. True, it was early days, but behavior like this could not be allowed to continue. Lois tightened her grip on the carrier and offered her free hand to Rachel. She was grateful when Rachel took it.
As she watched Timmy walk in front of them, Lois decided that perhaps it was past time that he had a date with a bar of Ivory soap. It was nontoxic, so it wouldn't hurt him, but it tasted bad enough that he might think twice before using that kind of language.
Fervently, she hoped he'd stop picking on Rachel. She didn't want to send him back. But if he continued to behave as he had, they'd have no choice but to ask Samantha to find another home for him. Lois knew they couldn't allow him to terrorize Rachel and call her names. It just wouldn't do.
She could hear Timmy muttering something under his breath as she found the Jeep in the parking garage and unlocked it. Lois silenced him with a look, then buckled him into his car seat before fastening the baby carrier in beside him. She put Rachel on the other side, hoping that the slight distance would make Timmy keep his hands off. She kissed Rachel on the cheek and gave her a small hug before going around the car.
"What would you like for dinner, Peanut?" she asked as she started the Jeep.
Rachel seemed to consider the question for a minute. "Psghetti," she said decidedly. "With meatballs?"
Lois did a mental inventory of the freezer. "We're all out of that--how about we swing by Cugino's on the way home?" she asked.
Rachel smiled for the first time since Lois had picked her up. "Goody," she said. "I like Mister Mario."
"Who's that?" Timmy asked, his lip still stuck out in a pout.
"You'd better be careful, Timmy," Lois advised. "My dad always told me that if I stuck my lip out like that, a little birdie would come and poop on your teeth."
She knew that she probably shouldn't have said that, but his reaction was enough to make her suppress a laugh. He withdrew his lip hastily. "Who's Mario?" he asked again.
"That's *Mister* Mario," Rachel informed him.
"Right, Peanut," Lois said. "He works at Cugino's and he's a really nice man."
"Uh huh," Rachel said. "An' he always tells me how pretty I am an' gives me candy, too." She paused for a few minutes. "I'm just not allowed to eat it until after dinner."
Lois glanced back at Timmy. She could tell that he wanted to say something nasty. She was pleased when he didn't say anything at all. She pulled up in front of the restaurant, parked, and got the kids out of the car. Together, they went inside and stood in the take out line to order.
"Ms. Lane!"
Lois turned and smiled as Mario waved from behind the counter. The only word to describe Mario was... average. He was shorter than Clark, and balding, with mousy-brown hair and a hook nose. His saving grace was the large, crooked smile that always seemed to be spreading across his face.
Before Lois could say anything, Rachel spoke up. "Mister Mario!" she called.
That crooked grin of his made an appearance. "Why hello, little miss Rachel." He reached in his pocket and handed her some tootsie rolls. "Why, you get prettier and look more like your Momma every time I see you." He winked, then gave Lois a suspicious glance. "Are you sure this one is adopted?" he asked with a grin.
Rachel accepted the tootsie rolls. "Thank you, Mister Mario! Yes I am. Momma and Daddy sawed me and loved me so much that they made me their little girl," she informed him.
"They're lucky then," he said solemnly. "Because if they hadn't got you first, I might want you to be *my* little girl. My wife would love you, too."
Lois smiled. "Good thing we found her first," she said.
Mario laughed. "Well, Ms. Lane, what will it be?"
Lois hoisted Jamie's baby carrier a bit higher and wished she'd thought to bring the baby sling. "Two orders of fettuccini and two child orders of spaghetti and meatballs," she said.
She glanced at Timmy, who was shooting evil glares at Rachel, then reached for purse to pay for the meal. "How come Rachel gets candy and I don't?" Timmy whined.
Mario looked over the counter at Timmy. "And who might you be, young man?" he asked.
"Timmy," the boy answered, as if Mario should know exactly who that was.
"This is Rachel's biological half-brother," Lois explained. "Social Services asked if we could keep him for a while."
"Ah," Mario nodded wisely. He reached in his pocket, pulled out a couple more tootsie rolls, and gave them to Timmy.
Timmy looked at the candy and scowled. "Rachel got more than me," he complained.
Lois could see that Mario was repressing the urge to roll his eyes. "She's older and bigger than you are." He said.
Lois handed him the money, and with a thank you, ushered the children over to a bench to wait for their orders to be ready. She sighed as she stopped Timmy from pulling Rachel's hair in retaliation for getting more tootsie rolls than he had. She could tell that if they kept him, Timmy's integration with their family would be a lot harder than Rachel's had been.
~*~*~*~
October 3, 1999 5:25 PM
Skies of Metropolis
Superman flew quickly towards the scream for help. He hadn't been able to make out much, but it sounded like a child. His mouth tightened almost imperceptibly as he raced towards the source. It wouldn't be the first time he'd been called by an abused child. At least, that's who he was assuming the cries were coming from.
Rachel had been an exception; her stepfather had instilled a fear of him into her. It was likely that if she hadn't been found, his baby daughter would've ended up as a statistic. With the child killer loose, it was still a possibility. He still didn't know how he could protect his own children when the world looked to him to help protect theirs.
Superman angled towards a small clearing in the park. The screaming had stopped, and he was worried about whoever had been doing the screaming. It was something that, with Lois's help, he'd long learned to accept. No matter how fast or strong he was, sometimes it wasn't enough and people died. That what he could do, and the lives he could save, were enough.
It didn't stop the hurt from the times that he wasn't good enough to save people, however. He'd just learned to accept that even with being Superman, he couldn't save everyone. Superman took a deep breath and landed. He scanned the leaf-strewn ground until he saw it--a small body was crumpled on the ground underneath a nearby tree.
He hurried to the child's side and carefully felt for a pulse. It was too late. Superman reached into a pocket that he'd gotten his mom to sew into his capes and pulled out his cellphone. It was a matter of minutes to call 911 and inform them of the latest murder.
Carefully, Superman stepped back from the rapidly cooling body so as not to disturb the crime scene. There were times when he wished he could be faster. There were times when what he wanted most was to save just one child from the kind of predator who was stalking Metropolis's streets.
And he was still struggling with balancing his two jobs and being there for his kids. How could he really keep Jamie and Rachel safe if he couldn't stop the murderer from killing somebody else's child?
~*~*~*~
October 3, 1999, 8:30 PM
348 Hyperion Avenue Metropolis
Lois grabbed her sewing kit and the pieces of Clarkie bear, then sat down, cross-legged on the bed. Carefully, she pinned the bear's arm in place. "I guess that Home Ec class they made me take in high school will finally come in handy," she muttered. She hadn't ever had to do much in the way of sewing--an occasional button here and fixing a hem there, but that was about it.
She wasn't that good of a seamstress, but even she should be able to sew an arm back on a teddy bear. Lois threaded a needle, knotted the end of the thread, and carefully started stitching. After a few minutes, she finished sewing up the seam, knotted the end, and snipped off the thread.
Pushing herself off the bed, she crossed the room to root around in the dresser for one of Clark's handkerchiefs. She grabbed one out of the drawer and went back over to the bed. She fashioned it into a sling and put Clarkie-Bear's arm into it. Just as Lois was finishing, Clark walked into their bedroom. His shoulders were slumped, and he had his hands stuffed into his pockets.
"Clark? Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Lois asked.
Clark shuffled over to the bed and dropped down beside her. "I'm not sure if I can do this," he mumbled.
Lois put her arm around him to give him some comfort. "Do what?" she asked.
For the first time since he'd gotten home, he looked at her, *really* looked at her. "I found the next victim," he said softly. "I heard him screaming, and I didn't make it in time. If I couldn't stop his murder, how the hell can I protect you and the kids?" He moved closer to her. "If anything happened to you or our children, it would destroy me," he whispered.
Lois put her other arm around him and gave him a tight hug. "Sweetheart, I know you want to protect us, and it's sweet. But we can't live and be afraid every minute that something bad will happen." She brushed a kiss across his lips. "You can't wrap us in cotton wool to keep us safe."
"But there are so many criminals out there who'd like nothing better than to come after us," he pointed out. "Jefferson Cole did it, Luthor did it, Tempus *keeps* doing it--what's to stop people like them from coming after Rachel and Jamie? Even Timmy?" Clark straightened slightly and wrapped his arms around her to hold her close.
Lois kissed the underside of his jaw. "You told me once that it's not the years that count; it's the moments," she pointed out. "Clark, together we've beat every crook, supervillian, and criminal that's come our way. I know you're worried, but we'll make sure that our kids have a safe, normal childhood."
Clark hugged her tight and kissed her gently. "Together," he whispered. He looked and the mended bear in her lap and smiled. "I thought your sewing skills were on par with your cooking skills."
Lois batted him on the chest. "Hey! I *did* make your alternate self his first Suit!" She linked her fingers with his. "Seriously, we do have a problem, though. Timmy."
Clark nodded. "I caught him pulling Rachel's hair tonight."
Lois sighed. "He's been picking on her all day. I gave him a time out." She grimaced. "I *wanted* to wash his mouth out with soap; the names he was calling her! But, well, I couldn't do it."
"I'm not sure if I could, either," he admitted. "Mom washed my mouth out about once--that was all it took."
Lois took a deep breath. "If he keeps on doing this--"
"We'll have to ask Sam to place him with another family," Clark finished the thought. "We can try to teach him better, but sometimes--"
"You can't save a person who doesn't want to be saved," Lois said. "And the more he picks on Rachel, the angrier I get." She bit her lips. "I've been having problems dealing with him as it is, because he looks like Gary Russell."
Clark pulled her close to him, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "I know you've been trying to forgive him and get past what he did to Rachel," he said quietly.
"I don't want her to have problems trusting people; I want my baby to have a happy life." Lois whispered.
Clark hugged her again and brushed another soft kiss against her lips. Together, they sat and comforted each other for a while, letting their physical closeness bring brief solace. While they couldn't fix everything, together they could overcome it.
~*~*~*~
October 6, 1999, 9:30 AM
124 Hospital Drive, Metropolis
Lois sat quietly in the waiting room with Rachel tucked under her arm. Their appointment had been supposed to start five minutes ago, but the doctor was running late. They'd dropped Timmy off at kindergarten, and she had Jamie in his sling across her chest. Rachel hadn't really wanted to come--again, which had almost made them late for the appointment as it was.
"Momma?" Rachel said, looking up at her.
"What is it, baby?" she asked.
"Do we *hafta* go in?"
"Afraid so." Lois said.
"But Mo-o-mmaa," Rachel whined.
"Rachel, we're going in, and you're going to play in Dr. Jenkins's playroom, just like you do every week." Lois said firmly.
"Okay," Rachel said with a sigh. "I still don't wanna."
"But you need to," Lois said gently. "Don't you like Dr. Jenkins better than Dr. Summers?" she asked.
"Uh huh," Rachel said with a cautious nod. "He's nice."
"Then why don't you want to see him, baby?" Lois asked.
"Because he shrinks heads," Rachel said firmly. "He hasn't shrunk mine yet, but he *will*."
Lois suppressed the urge to laugh, then almost jumped when the receptionist called their names. "Rachel Kent."
Lois stood up, picked up her purse, and held her hand out to her daughter. Rachel took it reluctantly, and they went up to the window. "Mrs. Kent, there's a problem with Rachel's records," the receptionist said. "They were supposed to arrive a while ago, but they haven't. We need them as soon as possible. It's in Rachel's best interest that Dr. Jenkins see them."
Lois worried the inside of her lip with her teeth. "I'll do my best to get them to you by Wednesday. Is that okay?"
"That's fine. You can go in now."
Lois opened the door and walked in with Rachel. She crouched down briefly. "Rachel, do you need me to go in today?"
Rachel scuffed the toe of her sandal against the floor. "Yes," she said softly. "Don't leave me alone in there, Momma."
Lois kissed Rachel's forehead. "I won't," she promised. "Not until you're ready."
They walked down the hallway and into Dr. Jenkins' playroom. Dr. Jenkins was inside writing something on a notepad. He looked up and smiled. "Hello there, Rachel."
Rachel hid behind Lois's leg. "She's been being shyer than usual," Lois explained.
He put his hand on his knees and leaned over so his face was closer to Rachel's level. "It's okay, kiddo. We're just going to play some more today. Your Mommy and baby brother can sit right here on the couch. Is that all right with you?"
Rachel nodded hesitantly. "I guess so--can I play with the doll house again?"
"Sure you can!" Dr. Jenkins gave her a large smile.
Lois let go of Rachel's hand, sat down on the couch, and pulled out some research that Jimmy had given her about a story she'd been working on. Rachel started towards the doll house, then glanced back at Lois, who gave her an encouraging smile. "It's okay, peanut. I'm right here if you need me."
Rachel nodded, walked over to the doll house, and pulled out the same dolls she'd played with the last time. This time, however, she picked out a little boy doll with brown hair. She placed them around the house.
"And who is the new little boy?" Dr. Jenkins asked.
Rachel bit her lip. "He's Justin. He's from Before. He used to live with Beth and her old daddy, but now he lives with her new family."
She picked up Justin and made him hit Beth. "Justin doesn't like Beth. The old Daddy used to laugh when Justin hurt her, so he told him to do it," she whispered. "Justin calls Beth mean names."
Dr. Jenkins pulled over a small chair and sat down nearby. "What do the new Daddy and Mommy say?"
Rachel hesitated before answering. She picked up the daddy doll and made it pick up Justin and deposit him in another room. "They tell Justin to stop and put him in time out. But Beth doesn't like Justin. She's scared of him."
"So what does Beth do to feel less scared?" he asked.
"She hides," Rachel whispered. She put Beth in a little closet and shut the door. "Justin can't get her there. And Mattie's crying doesn't hurt, neither."
Rachel moved the dolls around some more. "Beth feels safe when her Mommy and Daddy hold her, too." She volunteered. "Her Daddy is special. He keeps the bad people away from her. And Mommy drives the Monsters away."
"Who are the Monsters, Rachel?" he asked softly.
"Bad dreams," was her response. "Her Daddy keeps bad people like the OldDaddy and the FakeDaddy from getting her."
"Who is the FakeDaddy?" he asked.
"He took Beth away." Rachel said. "He took her from her new daddy and new mommy and she didn't want to go." She smiled. "Beth caused trouble until he let her go home."
"Where is the OldDaddy now?"
Rachel hesitated, then looked up. "Jail," she said softly. "Beth told a judge that he hurt her, and the judge put him in jail." She got up, ran across the room, climbed up on the couch next to Lois, and buried her face in Lois's shoulder.
Lois kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back. "It's okay, peanut," she said. "He's not here, and if you want to tell Dr. Jenkins what happened, nobody will be mad." She felt her blouse getting damp as Rachel started to cry. She pulled Rachel into her lap. It was a bit awkward with the baby sling, but she managed it and wrapped her arms around her daughter.
"Shhh," she said softly. "I'm here, sweetie. It's okay to be scared sometimes."
Rachel snuffled a little and pulled back. Lois pulled some tissues out of her purse, and wiped away her tears. By now, Rachel's nose was starting to run so she wiped that, too. "Blow," she said, holding it up to her nose.
Rachel obeyed. "I love you, Momma," she said, her eyes still wet with tears.
"I know, baby." Lois put the used tissue in her purse for later disposal and kissed Rachel on the forehead. "I love you, too. Now, would you go play with Dr. Jenkins for a little while longer?"
Rachel bit her lip, then nodded slowly. "Okay."
Lois watched as Rachel slid off the couch and walked back to the doll house, and sat down. She needed to get the records; it was obvious to her that Dr. Jenkins was getting further with Rachel than Dr. Summers ever did. The hope in her heart that her little girl would get better grew brighter as she surreptitiously watched Rachel play and listened to the dialogue between her daughter and the doctor. She turned back to her file. Everything would, eventually, be okay.
~*~*~*~
TBC...
